Change of Heart
by BVBhybrid
Summary: Lady Sif knows Loki is on the throne; she hates him and wishes not to see him on the throne. Soon her feelings toward him start to change; will Sif accept the new owner of the throne or die for Asgard? (Sorry the summery is terrible, I'm not good at them. This is my first Sifki ship fic, hope you like it.) Rated M: later on violence, language, and mild adult stuff.
1. Loki on the throne?

Sif, or Lady Sif as most called her, always knew she loved Thor. Or at least she knew she _should _love Thor. She never felt love toward him, only mutual respect and trust, but she was betrothed to him so she should love him, right?

Wrong, she did not love him the way she loved being an Asgardian warrior, or they way she loved reading old books by the fireplace, or art, or celebrations. All these things she loved more than him and she honestly did not regret it. She often consulted her trusted friends, the Warriors Three, and they always said she was just worrying and being foolish. That she need not to worry for she was a great warrior and would make a excellent queen.

Not that there was anything wrong with the current queen, Frigga. No one dared speak foul against her, for there was no need. Sif thought of consulting her about her issue, but thought it best not to and have everyone think there was an issue.

That was all gone now. Thor was on Midgard and Loki ruled over Asgard, Odin and Frigga dead. Ever since Thor had come back from Midgard after being banished, his heart was different. He did not love Sif any more, in fact, he barely paid attention to her since he met Jane.

_Jane. _She hated that name, for she hated Jane. Sif had spent a lot of time worrying over whether or not she would make a good wife and queen. She spent countless nights awaken over the fact she would fail. She would spend many nights crying and in panic over the thought of bearing children, the worry they would not be sons, and the worry she would not fulfil her duties as queen. She made herself ill with worry and sometimes skipped meals due to a stomachache. Now all that was for nothing.

With Thor gone and Loki on the throne everything was different. She wasn't suppose to know Loki was on the throne and that Odin was dead. The very thought of Loki being on the throne of Asgard made acid rise in her mouth. The throne was no place for the god of mischief.

Sif was pacing in her room, the chain mail clinked against her amour as she paced. Her room was rather big; there was a large bed, hides and blankets unkempt. On either side of her bed was a black night stand, one had a small rack of candles and the other usually had a chalice and water pitcher. She had a fireplace, unlit for for now, on the mantle were more candles and in front of the fireplace were a couple arm chairs and a small table in between.

She has a nice walk in closet, where she kept most of her shoes, dresses, and anything else that needed to be hung up. She also kept her amour in there, usually on a dress mannequin, but sometimes in a pile when she was to tired to put it away properly. She had a dresser and vanity for smaller things, like tights, knickers, and corsets. Somewhere in her chambers was a desk and fainting couch, both just collecting dust.

Sif turned and stopped pacing when she heard a sharp knock on the door. "Enter," she commanded. It was a guard.

"Lady Sif, his majesty requests your presence." _Oh really? _None the less she walked out of her chambers and down to the throne room. Once she was in the throne room she walked up to the throne and forced herself to kneel; placing her right fist her her heart and other fist behind her back.

"You requested me, _my lord._" The last words tasted like acid in her mouth, she had never shown Loki much respect. Especially after what he did to her hair all those years ago.

"It has come to my attention that you have been rather upset. Please enlighten me, what seems to be troubling you?" Sif jerked her head up, _Not what I was expecting… What on Midgard should I say?_ Loki in Odin's form was sitting on the half ruined thone, leaning to his left side and holding his staff firmly in the other hand.

"Nothing," she lied with a smile and stood up.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am fine. Nothing to fret about, my lord."

"Because you can tell me-"

She snapped, "Oh quit with the games, Loki, I know its you." Loki's lips curled up into a smile and his eyes narrowed.

"How did you know?" He dropped his allusion spell.

"Oh, please, I am not as foolish as the others around here. I saw right through your spell easily." _Plus after you were done talking to Thor I saw you drop the spell._

"Indeed," Loki smiled and walked down to her. "Are you still upset about Thor?"

"And if I say yes, what will you do? He was my friend, so of course I'm upset."

"It seems to be more than that." He started to put a knuckle on her cheek, but she grabbed it.

"What do you want me to say? I was betrothed to him and he loves someone else, if someone you loved was taken away from you how would you feel?" She snarled before even realizing what she had said; when she realized it, gasped slightly at her words. She knew Frigga had truly loved Loki and Thor told her how devastated he was when he knew of Frigga's death. "I am sorry, I did not mean anything by that." She let him go.

Loki turned around before turning back to her and slapping her across the face with the back of his hand. Her head jerked to the side and the hard impact of his hand made her grunt. She touched the tips of her fingers to her cheek, _It's ok, I deserved this. I would have done the same if the roles were reversed. _She knew she shouldn't have spoken like that, it was wrong especially since Frigga had just past. _Especially_ since she knew how much Frigga just loved Loki and considered him her own son.

"I am sorry… I did not mean to strike you." He put a hand on her shoulder, he knew he was very wrong to strike a woman. If Frigga was still alive, she would be very angry with him; of course, she was probably frowning upon him from the afterlife. Sif, on the other hand, stood there in shock, even though she hated him, and he knew she hated him, he never lashed out at her like that. Sure he lashed out at her, but it was with childish pranks and jokes.

She swallowed, "No I am sorry. I knew you were close to her and it was very wrong of me to say that." Sif genuinely meant this, she knew what it was like to lose someone.

Loki walked to the base to the stairs and sat down, after a moment, and against her better judgment, Sif walked over and sat down next to him. Loki had his face in his hands and his elbows resting on his knees. Loki was trying to hide his tears, but Sif saw right through him. And against her better judgment, again, she put a hand on his shoulder.

_Just because he's cruel and untrustworthy, doesn't mean he's completely heartless._

Loki pressed the palm of his hand to his cheek and wiped away the tears before looking at Sif. Out of all the people he thought would show him kindness, Sif wasn't even on the list. "Thank you...?" The phrase came out as more of a question.

"You're welcome…?" Her's was the same and she bit her bottom lip. She suddenly stood up and Loki did the same. She wanted to go back to her chambers, this was new to her… Loki being kind and showing emotions was unfathomable to her.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

She shook her head, "No, I-I mean everything is fine. So yes." She felt an uncomfortable burning in her cheeks and she knew they were turning red.

"You can go if you wish." Truth is, Loki had nothing of importance to talk to her about. He just wanted to see a familiar face.

"Thank you," she said before she even realized it. She nodded then walked out, cursing herself for being so weak in front of Loki.

She walked quickly to her chambers and once there, she walked into her closet and started to remove her amour. She took everything off and then put it on the dress mannequin; she felt to tired, and confused, to polish her amour. She tucked her boots in their place and put the smaller things like, her leather trousers and forearm guards away in their spot in the dresser. She pulled out a red, short, night gown and put it on after taking off her undershirt. With that, she absent mindedly threw it in her closet, blew out a few candles, and crawled into bed.


	2. Time Spent Together

Sif woke from a restless night, the thoughts of last night kept swimming in her mind so much so she could not sleep. She sat up and poured some water in the chalice that was on the bedside table. The warm water did not do much to help clear the thoughts and settle the nerves of the young maiden. She knew she could not confide in her friends, not about this matter.

_I do not think I can even talk to Loki himself about this._ She decided it was simply best to wait for him to approach her. Not to mention it was easier because she at least knew he could not reveal himself in front of everyone. It would be too suspicious.

Putting her chalice back on the nightstand, she stood up, stretched, and went to her closet. She picked up her undershirt she threw there last night and put it into a pile of dirty clothes along with her knickers and night gown. She pulled a black robe over her body and pulled it tightly close.

She walked down to the bath chambers and started herself a bath. Her bath chambers were rather elegant; the golden room was small, but met her needs. The bath was made from marble going doing into the floor with a golden pump. Different types of candle holders lines the walls, all lit. One wall was entirely made out of shelves; filled with soaps, lotions, small towels, sponges, and anything else there should be in a bath chamber. On one of the shelves there were a couple turned over chalices and a pitcher next to them. Usually it had wine, but sometimes it had water.

Sif walked over and grabbed some lotions and soaps, then mixed them up as she pumped the fairly warm water in to the bath. She put the vials back once she was done and poured herself some wine. Finally she slipped off her robe and hung it on a hook. She placed her chalice close to the edge of the bath and got in. The white bubble formed around her body and the water sloshed around. She sank further into the water until the water was up to her neck.

Normally she would not care for such extravagance, but today was different; perhaps it was because of stress. She sipped lightly from her chalice and enjoyed the warm water washing over her skin. She simply sat back, drank, and enjoyed herself.

After a good long while, Sif walked back to her chamber and got dressed. She had been told there was going to be a feast today; Loki... or rather Odin (She hoped she could remember that in front of him.) had called for it for Thor's victory on Midgard. Sif thought it to be rather silly for Loki to want to celebrate the brother he hated so.

She got into a pair of knickers and a corset, they were plain cream color. She did not care for them to be strange colors like other women because no one would see them. She pulled on a long silver dress; the dress was tight around her body and complimented it. It went up to her collarbone and a little off her shoulders; the dress ended just at her ankles. She put on some flats with ribbon that tied around her ankles; last she put on some silver arm bands around her upper arm and mid forearm. She didn't bother doing her hair, just simply ran a brush through it. When she went to put her brush back in its proper place, in a drawer of her vanity, she noticed something that wasn't there before.

It was a dagger, about a foot in a half in length. It was a short, broad, jagged blade made of ivory is held by a grip wrapped in fairly common, red elk leather. Because it only has a razor sharp point this weapon will cause her enemies to leak from thousands of holes before they even know what happened.

The blade has a small, straight cross guard, just large enough to make sure her fingers were safe and the blade will remain firmly in her hands. The cross guard has a decorative cross on each side, this is clearly a weapon not meant to be wielded by a commoner. A small pommel is marked with the sword maker's signature, a symbol one can be proud of.

The blade itself is fairly simple. No markings can be found. While the hilt is as elegant as its owner, the blade has to be as strong as its owner. To Sif it was almost as if the blade was made for her since it fit so perfectly in her hand. She tied the dagger to her waist, there was a chain stringed through the ring that was on the locket. She didn't feel like questioning where it came from, she was just happy to have a new one, since her old one went missing.

She went over to her window and pulled the curtains back. The day was bright and busy, servants scurrying about to get ready for tonight and warriors going to and from their posts. There were many workmen, builders, stone masons, and gold masons all working frantically to restore Asgard to it's former glory.

Sif blew out the rest of the candles and walked out of her chambers. She knew where she wanted to go and what to do with her time until tonight. She just hoped no one would find her or find out about it. Especially given the attire she was in. Unforchantly that was not possible, the second she stepped foot outside she saw Fandral and he saw her.

"Ah, Lady Sif! How is thee on this fine day?" Fandral had a blond maiden on each arm.

"I am fine, thank you. Go back to whatever it is you are doing." She smiled and walked away, relieved that he carried on his away with the maidens and didn't question her. She walked on the outskirts of the city, there was a large royal maze, clean cut hedges towered over her. The maze was designed and built by Frigga, it was the one place where magic was forbidden. Frigga had forbade magic in the maze because she wanted it to be a peaceful.

Sif thought it to be a little ironic considering it was forged with magic; but she did remember running through the maze when she was a girl to get away from Loki's cruel magic jokes. Loki always laughed at her running, but she wasn't going to be victim to a cruel joke and be humiliated. She learned that lesson when she was walking outside in the winter time and he made ice cold water pour over her head; they were small children and from that moment on Sif hated magic. It was cruel and unpredictable.

Sif also remembered Frigga walking with her through the maze when she informed Sif she was to be betrothed to Thor. She answered her questions, soothed her concerns, and put the young maidens mind at peace.

But now walking through the maze gave her time to think about last night, her fingertips returned to the spot where he slapped her. So many questions swam through her mind, she wanted to know where the All -Father was and how he died. She wanted to know why Loki had taken the throne, why he faked his own death. She wanted to know the future of Asgard and its people. She wanted to know why Loki let Thor go back to Midgard.

Sif jumped when she heard someone walk up behind her. She removed her dagger and held it up to the person. The green eyes of Loki ment her blue ones. She put her dagger back.

"Loki," she half snarled.

"I thought you would be happy to see me, you've accepted my dagger as a gift I see." She looked down at the dagger.

"What? This is from you?" She tried to be angry, but it was such a beautiful dagger and fit in her hands so perfectly it was hard.

"Yes, I noticed your old one went missing and got that for you."

"I am still not sure how my old one went missing." She put her dagger away.

"Someone probably stole it from the armoury or a sword maker messed it up trying to fix it. But you needed a new one and I felt like getting it for you." Sif turned on her heels and walked deeper into the maze. The uncomfortable burning returned in Sif's cheeks and they turned red. Loki, of course, followed her.

"Well, do you like it?"

"It will suffice, not as good as my sword though." Loki chuckled.

"Figured you would say that, you know every good weapon has a name. What will you name your dagger?"

"Loki Killer," she laughed at her own joke then just felt stupid when Loki laughed along. So she gave it some thought. "Terror Shiv."

Loki smiled, "That would work. Does your sward have a name?"

"Silver Saber, not very creative like my dagger, but I like it. Does your dagger have a name?" Sif knew she should have been revolted talking to Loki, but this was about weapons. And weapons was something she enjoyed talking about.

"Oh you mean the dagger you always steal from me? It's name is Frost Knife."

"I do not steal it from you, I just take it away so you can't hurt anyone."

"And what about my magic, I can hurt someone easily with my magic."

"You are in a maze where magic is forbidden, good luck trying anything." Her lips finally pulled up into a smile, Loki took note of this.

"Yes I know, I remember you running in here to hide so you wouldn't fall victim to my pranks."

"Yes after the first couple times I had learned my lesson." Sif smiled at the memories as foolish as they seemed.

They walked deeper and deeper into the maze, not saying a word to one another. They did, however, steal the occasional glance from time to time. When Loki thought Sif wasn't looking he would look at the curves on her body or the way the dagger hung from her waist. When Sif thought Loki wasn't looking, she would look at him. The way his hands were clasped in front of him, or how we walked slightly slouched. She always knew that was when he truly was relaxed.

One time when Loki glanced over at Sif, she caught him, fully turning her head. He quickly looked away, looking at the winding path ahead. The same happened with Sif, she was taking a stolen glance at Loki when he suddenly turned his head. She jerked her head forward and focused on the clean cut look of the tall hedges as she bit her lower lip.

They reached the center of the maze, the center was lush with plant and animal life. Elk, deer, and small rodents scampered about. There was a large lake with small shrubs and cat tails around the waters edge; green moss floated on the surface of the water. Decent sized trees were grouped here and there, birds of all size flying from branch -to -branch and flying to the ground then back to a tree; usually with a small rodent in their clutches. Wisps of long grass blew in the breeze and fallen leaves scattered. Various type of wild flowers were here and there, flowers of all sorts of color and size.

Sif bent over, undid her shoes, and kicked them to the side. She walked over to the lake's edge and stood ankle deep in the water; some of the residential fish and frogs retreated when the water was disturbed. She had to lift up her dress so it wouldn't get wet, but she just stood there, the smell of the lake strong in her nose and the mud of the lake's bottom in between her toes. The soft wind blew her still damp hair around and she took in the lovely breeze of the garden.

This was the one place in all the Nine Realms she truly enjoyed. It was no training ground and a dress was no armour, but every now and then she needed to get away from it all. She had completely forgotten about all her budens, who she was with, and her questions. That was until Loki noisily splashed into the water beside her. She looked over, he had removed his large green and black robe, socks and shoes, and rolled up his trousers.

"I never realized how calming this place was." he said.

"Yes it can be very calming indeed." She relied and slouched some water around. Loki did the same and got a couple splashes of water on the lower front side of her dress. "Hey!" She exclaimed and kicked some water at him. She saw he was about to retaliate.

"Don't you dare! You'll ruin my dress."

"But it is ok for you to ruin my trousers?" He kicked some water at her and it splashed over the front side of her dress. This only caused her to splash more water at him and he her.

The bottom of her dress was now in the water and soaked, the front side was wet as well. Loki's trousers had unrolled and were soaked in the water; spots of water were on his tunic and amour. They both had smiles on their faces, laughs on their lips, and joy in their eyes. They were truly enjoying each others company.

Sif took a step back to make her next water attack, but her foot hit a slick spot of mud and she stumbled backward. She then lost her footing and fell into the lake; the entire back of herself and her dress was soaked in water. She had many spots of mud over her dress and even her hair was wet and muddy. Right away Loki started to laugh at her as she got up and evaluated the mud on her dress. She scowled at the large streaks of brown mud.

"Are you alright?" he asked between laughs.

"I am fine, but my dress is ruined." Sif walked out of the lake and started to wring out her hair. She looked up at Loki, he was completely dry. "You used magic to dry yourself didn't you?"

He smirked, "Perhaps."

"But magic is forbidden!"

"So what, who's going to stop me? Besides it was just a small spell, nothing to burden yourself with. I could do the same to you if you'd like and salvage your dress." He bent over and started to put on his shoes and socks back on. Sif looked over at him and sighed.

"Please?" She forced out, Loki looked up at her in complete dismay. He would never expect that word to come from her lips directed at him.

He stood up and walked to her, she stood still as he stopped in front of her; magic was still one of the few things that terrified her. It always terrified her how unpredictable it could be… how unpredictable he could be. He waved his hand over her, not touching her once, and just like that she was dried off and cleaned of mud. Her hair was dried and had returned to its normal wavy state; and her dress was returned to normal.

"Thank you," she forced those words out.

_Perhaps he's not completely a terrible person after all._

"You're welcome," it took the pair a moment or two to realize how close they were standing to each other. Sif's cheeks were burning again and she mentally cursed herself to Niflheim and back for it; she walked over to her shoes and slipped them back on. When she looked back at Loki he was slipping on his robes.

Just then the pair heard the sound of some guards coming, Loki looked over at Sif. "Pretend I'm Odin," Sif was confused at first, but then saw Loki's green magic wash over him and he looked like the All-Father. Seconds later three guards entered the gardens, they all got to their knee and placed their right first over their chest. They all gave a "My Lord," and bowed their heads before getting back up again.

"What be your business here?" Loki shifted his body, made his back straighter and raised his chin to make is seem as if the guards were beneath him.

"My lord we were merely concerned, you've been gone for hours." Sif, who had kept her head down, looked up. _Hours? How is that even possible?_ Sif looked over at "Odin".

"Your worry will not go unnoticed, but I can assure you to not burden yourself. The Lady Sif and I were talking a walk through the gardens my queen loved so much."

"Understood, my lord." one said.

"Our apologies for being a burden in your time of mourning." The guards got to their knee, bowed their head, and left. The pair waited for a few minutes before Loki dropped his spell and turned to Sif.

"That was close," Sif nodded in agreement.

"Answer me this: I thought magic was forbidden, how are you able to use it?" Loki looked down as if the memory was painful to remember.

"Mother had a spell over this place so you couldn't use it… Well the spell died when she did, I'm going to put a new one up soon so it's still forbidden and only I can use magic here." Sif walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"It will be ok."

"How do you know?" His voice was cold.

"You are not the only person who has lost someone close to them." Her voice was soft and gentle, and seemed to sooth the god who was on the brink of tears. He smiled and blinked back the tears.

Suddenly a strong, cold, wind blew through the gardens and Sif couldn't help but shiver. Her long, black, hair blew wildly around her face; the long strands getting in her face. As Sif was messing around with her hair and trying to tame it again; Loki had taken off his robe again and slid it over Sif's shoulders.

"I am fine," she took it off and gave it back to Loki who only put it around her shoulders again.

"You are cold, do not try to deny it." She sighed and accepted the gods act of compassion and pulled the robe close to herself, she warmed up right away. She was rather cold, the autumn season was coming and it was going to bring a harsh winter with it. Sometimes the cold didn't bother her, but this was Asgard weather and it wasn't kind.

"I think we should head back." He suggested as they walked back to the maze.

"Sif nodded, "Yes, I think it'll be best."

"You lead the way, you know how to get through the better than I do."

She smiled just slightly, "Well, I have had my practice." They started to walk through the maze, this time no stolen glances were take for they would just turn their head to look at one another with unspoken words. Loki more than Sif, he was very ambiguous about it. Sif, on the other hand, was ambivalent about it.

She wanted to hate him, she really did and she knew she should hate him after what he has done. After all, all the things he had done on Midgard and Asgard, her home, she just couldn't hate him. Perhaps it was because the wine she had earlier was going to her head, or perhaps the time they just spent together was actually enjoyable, or perhaps because they had grown up together and she knew he was full of nothing but tricks, riddles, and games.

_But if he was just tricks and games, then Midgard couldn't have been by his hand? Couldn't have been his choice?_ Sif pondered this at they continued to walk. _Sure his jokes could be rather cruel and he would never intended for someone to be hurt. If someone did get hurt he would always apologize. (Mostly because his mother made him.) What changed? When did he change?_ She thought about it deeper. _He changed his motives ever since Thor tried to slaughter the Frost Giants, those short-feeling two years ago. What had happened when I was too busy fighting to keep an eye on the god? He did save my life when that Frost Giant tried to attack me from behind. Do I own him because of that?_

She was snapped out of her thoughts when the cold air hit her bare skin. She looked over at Loki who was putting the robe back on. "I apologize, but we're almost out of the maze. Better mask myself new then have someone see me."

"Right," Loki put the spell over himself again and he was now Odin. They walked out of the maze.

"Thank you for accompanying me, Lady Sif."

"My pleasure, my lord." She bowed her head and Loki nodded before turning to leave. Sif turned on her heels and started to walk to the Bifrost to speak to Heimdall.


End file.
